Great news! This is (hopefully) the last time the weekly roundup will discuss the government shutdown. The government is finally back together. But don't start thinking everyone in Washington is holding hands and singing Kumbaya together. Tensions are still high amongst officials in the aftermath of the shutdown. With the end of the government shutdown comes a shutdown a little closer to home.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about so far, no worries. I've summarized all the juicy news events from the week for you below.

Let’s get started.

1. Government Shutdown

The Row may be closed this week, but at least our government is not. The House passed the Senate’s bill to reopen the government and extend the government’s borrowing powers on Wednesday night. While it’s nice that our government is back to life again, we still have some issues. The debt ceiling was only pushed to February 7, which is right around the corner. Plus, the shutdown didn’t exactly help the country’s overall economy. Obama criticized Republicans on Thursday for causing damage to the economy and not focusing on the needs of the American people. 

Read more here

2. Bulgarian Border

Bulgarian officials announced Wednesday that the country plans to build a fence around its border to keep out Syrian refugees. The 19 mile long fence will cover the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, where most Syrian refugees have been passing through to flee their war-torn country. Over 6,800 foreigners entered Bulgaria illegally this year, and since Bulgaria lacks a strong refugee agency, they are unable to support all of these immigrants. 

Read more here

3. Congressional Medal of Honor

Captain Swenson was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on Tuesday, which is the highest award for bravery offered in America. Swenson received the award for his bravery during the Afghan and Iraq wars. During the Battle of the Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009, Swenson ran through enemy fire to retrieve fallen American and Afghan soldiers. Recently, Swenson filed paperwork to return the Army active duty.

Read more here

 

4. Saudi Arabia vs. U.N. Security Council

Saudi Arabia announced today they will not be accepting a seat on the U.N. Security Council because of the council’s “failure” in dealing with the Middle East. The Saudi government also cited the council’s inability to properly handle the spread of weapons of mass destruction in the region as another reason for their rejection of the seat. Officials from Saudi Arabia were also disappointed in the U.N. for not punishing the Syrian government for the poison gas attack which caused the deaths of hundreds of Syrian citizens.

Read more here

5. USC Row Shutdown

This news doesn’t exactly apply to this article since most of you probably know about it, but I’m discussing it anyway for the .1 percent of you who haven’t heard about this by now. Yes, USC’s row is not having parties during the week. On Monday night, the university is strictly enforcing the policy that the row cannot host parties during weekdays after several students were hospitalized after attending fraternity events last week. One Loyola Marymount University student was also hospitalized last week, after she was injured at at a Thursday night party. Registered weekend parties will still be allowed despite other restrictions.

Read more here

 

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Reach Contributing Reporter Madison Mills here.